Repeating the same logo, message, image or colours throughout a companies collateral may seem boring and uneventful. However, the importance and strength of brand consistency is often overlooked and undermined. If done correctly a business is more likely to look professional, be easily noticed and remembered.

Many small and even larger businesses fail to maintain brand consistency. They loose focus on the overall look and feel of their brand as they concentrate on the direct ROI that is usually easier to measure. Other reasons a business may fail with brand consistency are: a change in staff, priorities, budget, marketing, management, software, filing and even a change in designer, printer or loss or lack of a style guide.

Maintaining a consistent look and feel across all aspects of your business may in fact increase recognition to current and future customers or clients. Plus, you will look more reputable. You don't see apple, Nike or google messing around with their core brand look, feel and message, so why should you? Maintaining strong visual consistency across all collateral and media reinforces an echoing message and a reminder to the world that your business is active, accessible and professional.

It doesn't matter if you're a start up, small or large business, consistency with a brand and message can be powerful enough to increase sales, clients or leads. Your brand is the face of your business, a first impression and reminder of who you are and what you do. Be consistent, maintain the same message, always use your logo correctly and keep it simple.

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A real life story about the guy next door.

My next door neighbor is a landscaper, he has a truck with his logo/branding on the side that I'll randomly see two to three times a week. A few months ago I received a flyer in the mail from his business promoting landscape and garden reconstruction and maintenance. Usually I would just turf the flyer and think nothing of it. However, the logo and branding stood out to me so well as I have seen it repetitively on his truck. After receiving the flyer I started noticing more of his small yet effective self promotions, The garden store had his business cards, the community board had a poster, I even noticed his A-Frame on the curb as I drove past a house he was working at.

By this stage I started to feel as though I already knew the guy personally (which I didn't). I even thought to myself, "Hey, I know this guy (which I don't) I should think of a way to use his services". My landscape friend (not friend) could have done a cheap and nasty job on a black and white flyer design made in Microsoft Word that in turn would have been turfed into the trash unnoticed. Instead, he had invested in good design and consistent branding and in turn was painting the town red with his company message. The connection between all his small yet effective pieces of collateral has increased my awareness of not only his business but of all the services he offers that I didn't otherwise know .

"Like a squeaky wheel, be consistent and you won't go unnoticed"
Justine Malone.